There are several houses in Irvine that I'm interested in, and a few realtors and people have got me racking my mind regarding which direction a house should face. Two of the homes I am looking at are facing Northwest, which I was told is really not very good. As the sun sets, there is less natural light that goes into the house/ family room as the sun moves west. I went to the house at ~3:30pm and the light was leaving the back yard. My initial thoughts were, well that's not so bad... you won't roast in the summertime... But a friend pointed out that it looked a bit dark that the general preference would be to have nice afternoon light in the backyard... good for entertaining and bbq's, etc... Beyond that, my mom tells me it's a korean/asian thing to want to have your house receive morning sunlight at the front of the house (facing east or southeast). Any thoughts?
What direction do you want your house to face?
- Thread starter akim997
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I generally prefer most windows of the living room to face south. You will receive most sun light if you like your place being bright all day. Note that a large part of Irvine is laid out sort of diagonally (streets run northwest to southeast (Irvine Blvd), or southwest to northeast (Culver)); my next preferred facing would be southeast which will be bright all morning. To me southeast is better than southwest as it would get really warm in the summer afternoon due to the west setting sun.
Moving2irvine
New member
I would think it also depends of the layout of the house. Our master bedroom faces east, so during the summer months, it's really baking in the room by 7:30! :'(
Front door facing - EAST or NORTH or NORTHEAST; everything else (like light, heat and others) will follow.
There is a reason for it. Home Owner steps out of the home for a work that is beneficial for his/her family's present and future growth (it could be signing a big deal or for 9-5 work or some other venture) and you would like to go up (like in a graph, your sales increase). EAST - Sun rises in EAST. NORTH is opposite to South which generally means going down. NORTHEAST is combo of NORTH and EAST, it is generally considered good as well.
What you DO NOT want is the front door facing WEST (sun sets in west) or SOUTH (dont want to go down in anything you do).
Ofcourse, some cultures believe in this approach and some does not.
There is a reason for it. Home Owner steps out of the home for a work that is beneficial for his/her family's present and future growth (it could be signing a big deal or for 9-5 work or some other venture) and you would like to go up (like in a graph, your sales increase). EAST - Sun rises in EAST. NORTH is opposite to South which generally means going down. NORTHEAST is combo of NORTH and EAST, it is generally considered good as well.
What you DO NOT want is the front door facing WEST (sun sets in west) or SOUTH (dont want to go down in anything you do).
Ofcourse, some cultures believe in this approach and some does not.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I've never really concerned myself with the direction of the house in regards to the rising/setting of the sun.
Nowadays, I would rather the back face a view and not a busy street or highway, and the front face a single loaded street... heh.
Nowadays, I would rather the back face a view and not a busy street or highway, and the front face a single loaded street... heh.
hmm.. still a bit confused. first, rent's post is correct in that off Irvine Blvd, everything is at a diagonal. My choices are facing NW or SE.
Also, an important factor is that the kitchen/family room is in the REAR of all these houses. So my consideration is what is going on in the back yard/back of the house. Is it better to have nice sunlight in the morning or nice sunlight in the afternoon? The NW facing houses get sunlight in the morning, the sunlight moves to the front of the house by the afternoon (bad for washing cars??? ha) ... The SE facing house gets morning sun in the front of the house, in the afternoon, you get sunlight in the back yard and in the family room/kitchen. Can't figure out which I'd prefer.
Also, an important factor is that the kitchen/family room is in the REAR of all these houses. So my consideration is what is going on in the back yard/back of the house. Is it better to have nice sunlight in the morning or nice sunlight in the afternoon? The NW facing houses get sunlight in the morning, the sunlight moves to the front of the house by the afternoon (bad for washing cars??? ha) ... The SE facing house gets morning sun in the front of the house, in the afternoon, you get sunlight in the back yard and in the family room/kitchen. Can't figure out which I'd prefer.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
So what about houses that face due south or due north? You can see the sun set or rise from either your front porch (if you have one) or your backyard (if you have one of those too).
Is there some rule for sun rising/setting on the left/right side of the house?
Is there some rule for sun rising/setting on the left/right side of the house?
I'd prefer morning sunlight in kitchen/family for breakfast hours (that means NW or NE facing front door). That does not mean that there should be no light the otherside of the house, it just means that you are mostly in the kitchen/breakfast nook during morning and can enjoy fresh rays of sunlight.
And it also suits my earlier preferred direction of N or E or NE. We passed quite a few houses due to front door facing direction, though they had everything we ever wanted!
And it also suits my earlier preferred direction of N or E or NE. We passed quite a few houses due to front door facing direction, though they had everything we ever wanted!